Not a single day goes by that I don't wonder what he means. He's so casual when it's said, it makes me realize he's been saying it for the longest time. Why don't I remember those times? Why can't I recall all the times he's told me?

The kitsune's mind began to wonder as he tapped his pencil aimlessly on the desk before him. His own apartment, as he had been told by his mother he would have during his school years. In reality, it was a room at Genkai's temple that he labeled his own with her permission. He needed a place to call 'home.' A place he could say he was paying rent to so that his mother wasn't getting suspicious. It was a place that she needed to be able to visit. He was grateful to Genkai, though he had already settled their score. A small frown formed on the kitsune's mouth.

The pencil tapped the desk a few more times. Notes, random and various notes to the naked eye were scattered across the room. In the red head's reality they were his life as far as he could remember. They were key points to his existence, moments that defined him. Alas, why was it he couldn't see to recall certain moments in time? His demon birth, his demon parents, certain times when he was with Kureonue, certain times when he was with Yomi, and many other points in time that he was sure at some point he had known—yet now he sat, struggling to remember them.

Now an irritated sigh escaped him. It wasn't really curiosity either. It was more like a protection to his pride. The old kitsune took pride in knowing every key detail of his life. See, kitsune youkai, especially kitsune no seishin youkai took pride in knowing every detail in their life. Smells, faces, and even down to the feel of the air at the time. They were amazing camp fire story tellers for that reason. However, this certain kitsune wasn't able to remember things in such a way. It was a blow to his pride, his ego, and his honor as a kitsune no seishin youkai.

"I told you not to think about it." Came an irritated fire demon, ready to cut Kurama in two.

Green eyes glanced back toward the demon that was entering the room. He then turned back to the journal in front of him. Placing a piece of folded paper in the page he was currently on, he shut the book and slowly turned toward the short youkai.

"I remember never agreeing to do so." The elegant red head crossed his legs.

"Unfortunately…" Glancing around the room, it seemed that the fire demon's emotions were running higher than usual. "Kurama, this is ridiculous." He complained picking up a few of the papers. He now seemed far more irritated than usual at the scene before him. Kurama had done this multiple times and the chibi of a youkai had always been able to get him to stop. "It's for your own good that you don't remember these things," the fire demon started. "If you keep on like this the results won't be in your favor." A low growl seemed to radiate in the fire youkai's tone.

He didn't budge. Instead, the red head just kept glaring at the shorter youkai in the room. "Why is it every time you say that it only raises my curiosity?"

"Because you're an annoying fox." Hiei spat.

"Now you're just being rude."

"I have every right too." His tone seemed to soften. "Kurama, don't look into this anymore." As he tossed the paper on the ground, he looked up to the red head, dead in the eyes. "It's for the better that you don't know, brother."

Kurama only smiled at the name. Brother. It seemed like a sort of stab to the gut. He heaved a sigh and looked at his short brother, a small hint of a lie in his eyes. "I'd love to stop."

"Tch." The sign from the shorter that he knew the red head was lying.

"But it seems my curiosity is peeked."

"Kurama, don't be blind. You're fully aware you're only looking into this because you can't stand that I know something you don't."

"Only partly true. It's half and half, really."

"You're being unreasonable." The shorter youkai rubbed his temples with his right hand, his left holding his right arm's elbow up. Maybe it would be better to get the demon's mind off of everything by bringing up the reason he was here, even if he didn't want to be here for such a reason. "Setting your obsession with your own mind aside," that caused a small chuckle from the red head. "Why did you ask me to come in the first place?"

Kurama nodded and snapped his fingers. "Yes, we're going to dinner, the two of us."

Hiei only arched a brow. "What?"

"Dinner. It's a place that serves pizza and Pepsi, so try not to dread it so much."

"Hn." A small silence fell upon the room as the red head seemed to get up at the mention of leaving to 'primp' and 'pamper' himself. It was a date, and Hiei could tell that his brother had to 'doll up' his human body to feel attractive in it at any point. While the kitsune took his time, Hiei sat himself on the bed looking at some of the papers. He narrowed his eyes at a few of them as they turned to ash. He then looked toward the bathroom where his brother was, a few more in the same area they had before turning to ash.

"Brother, are you aware of how long it took me to write all of them?"

"Wasted time."

The kitsune could feel his own blood boiling. At times he wondered if his brother lived solely to frustrate him.

Hiei continued, picking up papers and burning them all the while. "I've told you this before; if you continue to do this I'll only burn your progress."

"I know it's 'for my own good' but I can't possibly see how." The fox came out looking – to Hiei – no different than when he had entered. He smelled more strongly like roses, but that was about it. And then there were the 'nicer' clothes as the red head would put it.

"Well, it is."

"You're such a child… is that what you're wearing?"

Hiei looked down at his normal black cloak and every day attire. "Yes, why?"

"No."

"What?"

"You're going to meet a nice girl tonight. It's a double date. You need to look nice."

"I look fine. I'm not primping myself for an onna, brother. That's absurd."

Kurama's eye twitched as the short youkai seemed to smirk. Hiei knew good and well the blow he had dealt, saying that it was absurd for Kurama to primp himself for a human woman.

"Would you just trust me?" Kurama seemed to almost sing that daunting phrase.

Hiei only sat, looked around the room, and then glared at him. "Trust you? The fox who can't keep his muzzle out of anything?"

"Yes." The reply was sweet, and oblivious to the subtle hints dropped by his brother.

"…Hn."